As a talent, Kevin Matthews wanted several names to be brought into IMPACT.
From 2017-2019, WrestlePro/Wrestle Pro Alaska promoter, Kevin Matthews, was a part of IMPACT Wrestling and used his initials, ‘K.M.’, as his ring name. For a portion of that run, Matthews was paired with Fallah Bahh and they joined IMPACT’s tag division.
Matthews’ time at IMPACT was discussed at length when he appeared on René Duprée’s Café De René livestream. He mentioned that he pushed for the company to bring in both Anthony Bowens and Kris Statlander, who are currently with All Elite Wrestling.
When I was in IMPACT, I pushed Pat Back down their throats to get in the office and I was a talent and constantly, I’d mention him to Sonjay (Dutt) and I mentioned him and it was Scott, Scott D’Amore and I said, ‘Dude, bring Pat in, bring Pat in, bring Pat in, bring Pat’ to the point where it was annoying and then Anthony Bowens. I got no one in at IMPACT. I got people booked in matches but I didn’t get anyone hired… They wouldn’t listen to me. Anthony Bowens was the main talent where I was like, ‘Bowens, Bowens, Bowens. Book Bowens’ and then even when I did joint shows with IMPACT Wrestling, when they did IMPACT/WrestlePro in Brooklyn and mainly in Jersey, I would always put Bowens against Eli Drake, against their top guys because I purposely booked it so Scott D’Amore can see how they looked against his top guys and Bowens always looked like a star and I was trying to get him hired so much so, to see him ascend to this level, to me, I’m like, told ya. F*cking told ya. But again, butterfly effect. If that would have happened, maybe he would’ve been IMPACT Champion by now, The Acclaimed wouldn’t have happened. The Acclaimed probably still would’ve happened because (Max) Caster’s rapping. They would have put somebody else probably in it but, it all worked out exactly the way it needed to be but there’s so many people that I pushed, and then just didn’t happen. I was too small on the totem pole. I wasn’t Sami Callihan that can get his entire friends and family signed and other people so, it is what it is and then, it’s Kris Statlander was the other one I constantly was pushing down IMPACT’s — no one listens to me. Why would you? But ha, look at that. Look at who goes on to become stars. Well maybe Kevin does know something huh?
A talent who is currently working with IMPACT Wrestling was brought up and that is former Digital Media Champion Matt Cardona.
Matthews recalled texting Cardona in 2022 and advising him to get surgery for his bicep although it was partially torn. Kevin stated that some opt not to get the surgery if its partially torn because the recovery time is shorter. He tore his bicep and opted not to get surgery and added that whenever he wrestles, he wears a sleeve or armband to hide the rolled up bicep.
Whoever is watching this, listen to me and listen good, if you partially tear your bicep and it rolls up a little, doctors will tell you-you don’t have to get surgery, it’s a three-month recovery. Get f*cking surgery, because then it rolls up. Same thing as Tony Nese and Miro and all of these other guys, because it only tears a little bit and it just pulls up a little so you don’t have to get surgery, it’ll heal. But when Matt Cardona partially tore his, I texted him, I was like, ‘You’re gonna get surgery, right?’ And then he’s like, ‘Well, I don’t know. I have a lot of bookings lined up,’ and I was like, ‘Bro, trust me. You’re a body guy. You’re going to regret not doing this for three f*cking months. Just get it done’ and he got it done. I don’t know if I was the f*cking selling point on it but he got it done and if could go back in time, I would absolutely be like, dude, it’s three months. But at the time, it sounds good. It’s like, oh, you don’t have to get it done. It’s like, okay then. If I don’t need surgery, I’m not getting it. I would get it.
If you look at my AEW stuff, I have an elbow pad on my right arm or I have the arm sleeve. You never see me in matches where I don’t have something covering that bicep. That’s why I always had that long arm sleeve or an elbow pad always on my left arm, to hide the disfigurement.
There was a title change on the latest episode of IMPACT Wrestling on AXS and to read more on that, click here.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Café De René with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
